First Love
by JA-307020
Summary: The story fills some of the gaps from the film made in 1982 (in my own view). I am sorry for the unusual format, it's my first time I publish here. English is not my native language so I apologize for all the mistakes I failed to correct. Feel free to share your honest opinions.


**Chapter 1: The birth of Tron**

Inside his cubicle at ENCOM, a young man types fervently while whistling a random refrain. Alan Bradley will always whistle when preoccupied. But this time no angry voice stops him from a nearby office because he is all alone, working at night again to finish his masterpiece: a revolutionary security program. He reaches for some popcorn while typing with one hand. "Tron, you'll make me proud, I can say this already!"

"You know, the first sign of madness is when you start talking with your computer!" A tall, blonde woman was looking at him from above.

"Lora, hey! I thought you'd be at home by now, had no idea you too work until late."

She comes behind him and rests her hands on his shoulders. Alan looks at her smiling face. "I had to stay, we are making remarkable progress with the digitizing process. In a few days we will finally test it!" She sounds happy even if her voice depicts tiredness.

"Digitizing? I think I've heard something but been so busy lately, I forgot to ask you about it. What is all about?"

She starts playing with his hair and Alan suddenly doesn't want to hear about anything related to work.

"I'll tell you on the way home, what do you say?"

He turns to his computer and starts typing fast. "Let me just save this and I'll be with you in a second." Few more keystrokes and he stands. He grabs his coat and both head out to the parking lot.

Inside the ENCOM building, in Alan's cubicle the CRT monitor displays:

/compiler initiated

/program TRON-JA-307020 loaded to memory

/compiling ...

/success

/program up and running

On the Grid a new program takes shape. He is tall, dark hair, blue eyes. His face is calm and reassuring. He wears a glowing suit with energy lines that look a lot like circuits. Four small blue squares form a T on his chest. His name is Tron.

He looks around, all serious and not a bit scared of this world he is in. He knows exactly what to do. Tron steps out of the Compiler Room and the door closes behind him. It cannot be accessed from outside so there is no point in waiting for it to open. He reaches for the nearest Grid panel and proceeds to gather as much information as possible. Being at one of the lowest levels doesn't provide with anything important. But at least now he knows the basics and it appears that the place is immense. He needs to reach to it's center in order to do his job as the system monitor. He proceeds to the nearest transport beam.

A Solar Sailer is about to leave and he made it just in time. There are only few programs aboard. He looks at the vast Sea of Simulation, a bit amazed by the way it appears. Yet nothing can be seen on his face. The transport vehicle leaves all of them at the edge of the Game Grid.

Tron heads to a nearby access panel and places his hand on it. Diagrams and written information pop out and spread before him, floating in the air. He's not even close to his target, but there is plenty of time. With a gentle move he turns off the panel and proceeds to find a Data Stream that will take him to another area of the Grid.

**Chapter 2: The first meeting**

A few milicycles passed and Tron is still wandering around, trying to gain access to the higher levels. His aim is the MCP itself but it is a slow process. He had to acquire at least half a dozen of firewall patches just to get aboard this transport. And he was pretty sure those would crumble at the first check. That is why he is now hiding behind some archive bins, avoiding the guards and the Traffic Managers.

_First thing I will do after I get out of here will be to contact Alan One. I need instructions and more access from him._

"Can you please update your archive bins with the appropriate checksum? We will arrive shortly and it will make the security check a lot easier if you would have all your data packets marked with your header."

He was so lost in thoughts he didn't even notice the Traffic Manager. A blonde woman was standing in front of him holding a transparent clipboard. Tron could see a lot of red letters flashing on it and he knew he was in trouble.

"Uh ... these are not mine."

She tilted her head looking straight to his face for a moment. That made Tron act like a child who was caught stealing sweets. She laughed and came closer.

"A stowaway?"

Tron couldn't lie. Looking at the floor, suddenly interested by its glowing pattern he answered: "Yes."

He appeared to be so lost and she just couldn't call in the guards without first trying to find out more.

"I can see why you're hiding. That MCP has gone crazy with his games. He implemented so many firewall routines that I get at least one "unprepared" passenger at each journey. Still, you don't seem like the ones I've seen before."

She took a seat on one of the archives and put the clipboard aside. Then she looked up to that mysterious program. He didn't seem to be scared, more like annoyed because his journey might get interrupted. "What is your name?"

He dared to take a peek at her. And somehow he knew she won't turn him in. "My name is Tron. I am fairly new to this system. I need to reach to the I/O Tower and communicate with my User."

"I'm Yori." She smiled and started to type something on her clipboard. Then she stood up, her face showing that she took a decision. "Come with me, Tron. You'll need more than what you have to reach inside the I/O Tower."

He followed the Traffic Manager a bit confused by his reactions around her. Yori went to the command deck and started to adjust some of the settings. As soon as she finished, a panel lit and a red circle started to flash on it. "Put your hand on the circle," she advised. Tron moved slowly towards the panel and complied with her request. He felt a tingling sensation, a series of beeps started and after a few moments the circle glowed green. He kept on pressing against it.

"You can take your hand off now."

"What did you do?"

"I've upgraded your access rank in the Grid. Now you can travel all around the Games area and even reach the I/O Tower. However, I would advise you to keep a low profile. Sometimes the guards do random checks with commander Sark and those fake permissions of yours would be spotted eventually."

Tron was amazed. Out of nowhere a stranger helped him and that was something which he couldn't understand. "How can I thank you for ... ?", he waved his hand.

She came closer and looked him in the eyes. "Just stay out of trouble, ok? I wouldn't want to see you de-rezzed in one of Sark's games."

He wanted to say something but a voice resonated above. "Destination reached. Please stand by for security check. Don't forget to mark your archive bins accordingly and keep all your data packets together."

"You should get ready." She turned to the panels. Tron looked at her for a moment then stepped out hoping he will manage to get past the security.

**Chapter 3: Captured**

Objective 3 - monitor the Grid

Objective 2 - protect all uncorrupted programs

Objective 1 - take down the MCP

Primary Directive - I fight for the Users

Tron received his instructions from Alan One. He stepped out of the stream and looked at Dumont, the I/O Tower Guard. He wasn't feeling like running into action just yet. And the Tower was a good place to rest for a while. Besides, Dumont knew Yori well and it was always comforting to hear the old program talking about her.

He often found himself thinking about that moment when saw the woman for the first time. There was something familiar about her. He had no idea why, but he felt drawn to Yori. Yet they didn't have the chance to see each other again.

Tron managed to find his way around the encrypted memory sectors and was trying to infiltrate a secured area in order to gather data about the MCP. His fake permissions allowed him to pass through several Logical Gates and he was confident no one spotted him yet. What he didn't know is that his every move was carefully monitored by commander Sark. A silent alarm notified him about the intruder thus a full detachment of Elite Guards was en route to detain the blue-lined program.

He did put up a fight but was eventually outnumbered. And those staffs used by the guards were draining all his energy. Sark was pleased to watch the fight from his Command Carrier. _He will make an excellent opponent in the Games!_

In the outside world, Alan Bradley got some spare time so he decided to have a look on his security program. Apart from the initial request for instructions there was no report of unusual activity. Alan was confident everything was working well. He typed: "Request access to TRON-JA-307020" and added his password. After a few seconds, a message came up. "Your access was suspended. Report to Dillinger." Alan stared at the screen for a while then stood up and marched towards the CEO's office with an angry look on his face.

In his holding cell, Tron was sitting on the floor thinking. _Way to go program! You reached exactly that place Yori told you to stay away from. Now what? _

After he was captured, Two Elite Guards had taken him in front of Commander Sark and he received his identity disc. Then he started the training sessions for becoming a Game Grid warrior. He went with the flow of the events but his mind was to Alan One. _I must hold on until I'll get the chance to talk with the User again. Together we will stop the tyranny of the MCP._

Tron stood up as he heard the familiar sound of the Guards coming for him. _Another match!_ They took the prisoner to a new Disc Wars Arena. There, four Elite Warriors surrounded him. They seemed confident that the blue program will be de-rezzed shortly. Most of the blue conscripts were no match for one Elite Warrior, let alone four! Inside his carrier Sark was looking at them through a magnification screen.

Calm and focused, Tron engaged them. The discs were flying all over the place and soon the first opponent was de-rezzed. Tron caught his weapon with an expert move and dodged a deadly hit. _It should be easier now_, he thought. His disc deflected another hit and the Warrior in front of him collapsed and de-rezzed in a moment. Now, the fight took a rapid course.

Aboard his Command Carrier Sark saw his Elite Warriors vanish in the familiar red light. Tron held his disc above head while looking straight. His stance was a message for all the programs from the Grid: **I fight for the Users!**

After countless matches Tron was finally free. He along with two other programs managed to escape out of the Light Cycle Arena. In the massive area outside the Games they found an energy well and rested for a while. The system monitor was a little intrigued by the newcomer – Flynn. He seemed so … out of place there. Yet his creativity allowed all three to escape. With their energy restored they went out again, hoping Sark has canceled the pursuit. But, the escapees were spotted ...

Flynn and Ram were gone, buried under a pile of data blocks. The Game Grid Tanks were chasing Tron while he was running towards the I/O Tower. His Light Cycle was faster and it was easier to maneuver in tight spaces where the Tanks couldn't reach.

He has to request new instructions from Alan One and notify him about his progress. _I will hide inside a stationary simulation until the MCP's guards will finish sweeping the area._ With this thought in mind he proceeded to the nearest transport command center.

There was a lot of activity inside, a Solar Sailer was ready to leave and programs were advised to embark. Tron was about to pass the full command room when he spotted a program he knew. She just handed a clipboard filled with data to a guard and was going back to her post. Tron grabbed her hand and pulled the blue-lined program to a dark corner of the room, behind the simulation controls. She looked at him with a blank stare and said: "30 and 56 are good. 4 and 8 are incomplete".

"Yori, it's me, Tron!" He took her face in his hands. The woman looked at him for a few moments then suddenly recognized the program she had been thinking about since they first met. "Tron!" She reacted unexpectedly and hugged him. To his astonishment he did the same.

"There is no time. I need to contact my User and make plans to take out the MCP." Yori took a step back and grabbed his hand. "Come, quickly!" she said and they both ran behind the known walking routes to take a shortcut to the I/O Tower.

**Chapter 4: Freeing the System**

Tron just got back his identity disc filled with new subroutines written by Alan One. He is now ready to face the MCP and take him down once and for all. And most important, Yori was there, she stood by his side all the way. They were heading towards a Solar Sailer which would take them straight to the MCP. But just a moment after the transport beam initialized the guards spotted them and Tron had to fight to maintain his higher ground. All the red programs were defeated, only one managed to survive while holding a grip on the Solar Sailer's ledge. The system monitor went to deal with him. "Hey, it's me, Flynn!" the red program shouted. And that saved him from being thrown into the Sea of Simulation.

Yori managed to set up a steady course for their transport vehicle. Tron and Flynn came near and the User had a strange reaction. He called her "Lora" while taking a few steps forward. Tron reacted immediately and she hid behind him. Yet, the User didn't seem that scary as she thought he will be.

Yori smiled and left.

Tron didn't like the look on Flynn's face.

Above them, Recognizers were close to reach the Solar Sailer.

_What is he doing?_

Flynn diverted a transport beam and they managed to jump on a different course. The Recognizers were destroyed by the incoming energy wave. Yori was amazed.

The shock from using his body as a vessel for the transport beam made Flynn talk funny. Yet he didn't de-rezz and Yori was happy to see him alive.

But their luck was about to end. Sark placed his carrier on a collision course and the small ship fell towards the Sea of Simulation. Tron went down with it. Yori and Flynn were captured.

Inside their holding cell on board of the Command Carrier Yori feels exhausted. Flynn tries to bring down the wall that separates them from outside.

They failed ... and Tron was de-rezzed.

Her energy lines hardly glow and her voice fades away. Just when she is about to collapse Flynn catches his companion. He diverts energy from his own system towards her. Yori looks at his face, he's smiling. _He has such a beautiful smile._ For a moment all they can do is look into each other's eyes.

Tron managed to survive and he is climbing on the exterior hull of the Command Carrier. Sark had set the de-rezzing process to automatic and everything that is on board of his ship will fade into nothingness. He prepares to leave with a portable short range module without knowing that Tron is above.

From the nearly de-rezzed Carrier Flynn looks at the fight between Tron and Sark. The only way to help is by distracting the MCP long enough to allow Tron send his disc into the vulnerable spot of the tyrant program. And for this he has to jump straight into the beam the MCP is projecting throughout the Grid.

"If you do this you'll be de-rezzed!" Yori steps in front of him to stop this from happening. And once again they cannot do anything but stare at each other. Then Flynn does something which no other program did. His face moves closer and gently kisses her. That nearly made Yori go into reboot mode. She opens her eyes but the User is gone.

The system is free now. All the I/O Towers are up and running and most of the corrupted programs are back to normal. Near the wreck of the MCP Yori hugs Tron. In the heat of the moment, happy to see all back to what it was she kisses him.

"That feels good," he says, amazed.

But it's nothing like what Yori experienced. And she can't take her mind away from that smiling face of Flynn.

**Chapter 5: Broken**

All programs are slowly getting back to their normal routine. Even without the MCP, Tron still has a lot to do. There are many corrupted scrips which have to be found and recompiled. And the Games ... It took a while for everyone to understand that games are for fun and they don't have to end by de-rezzing those who played them.

Yori was assigned to another sector, more suited to her needs and capabilities. Her access protocols were upgraded and now she was handling the entire Transport Protocol of the area. So they spent less and less time together.

Flynn? When thinking of him Tron had mixed feelings. On one side he was a devoted friend of the User. On the other, he wanted to see him de-rezzed.

He sighed and decided to take a walk, maybe go see Dumont. He needs that old program's wisdom because there are too many things that seem hard to understand.

In his Tower, Dumont was enjoying a free moment. Since the Grid was restored he had been very busy. Lots of programs needed communication with their Users and it was his job to provide it. He was out of his socket, stretching.

Tron stepped inside.

"Oh, not again, I really need a break, you know?" said the Tower Guard without looking.

"And I thought you are always happy to see me!" Tron sighed pretending to be upset.

"I've been working for so many milicycles I thought I will never come out again. Feels good to walk. I thought I will forget how to do that." Dumont turned around ready to step into his special place. "You need to communicate too?"

"Actually I came here to talk with you. I don't know if I should contact my User for this..."

His voice sounded tired and sad. That worried the old program. Tron didn't seem to be himself, he was distracted which was clearly a sign something wasn't right.

"What happened?" The Tower Guard sat on the stairs inviting the other to do the same. Instead, he started to pace around the room.

"Well, you know ... Yori." He stopped and turned his back to Dumont. "She ... and Flynn... I do not understand. I feel strange... For some reason I cannot stand seeing them together. I can hardly control the urge to get him into a Disc Wars game and de-rezz him." He clenched his fists as if ready to face an invisible enemy. "I've ran at least a dozen of self-diagnostics. All said I am ok. But maybe I was corrupted. If it's the case, those diagnostic routines should be corrupted as well and return a positive result when there isn't one." He gasped. "What is happening to me?"

The old program stood up and came to face Tron. "My dear son, I know what you're going through. No wonder you question your own code integrity. Come, sit down and we will get through this together." Dumont locked the entrance and displayed a maintenance sign. That should give them some privacy.

"We, as programs are more or less the copies of our Users. When they write us, they put a bit of themselves into our code. Some programs are special, like you. You have a lot in common with your User. What you think is corruption is something only few of us are privileged to feel."

"I ..." He had no idea what to say. The name just came out before he was able to stop himself: "Yori ..."

"You think of her at the most unusual times?" Tron nodded.

"You feel the urge to go see her? You want to spend all your time around her? You feel a strange sensation when she's away and become active in her presence?"

The answer came out as a whisper. "Yes."

"Oh, my dear son, you're not corrupted at all!" Dumont smiled. "That is love!"

"Love?" It sounded like one of the strange words Flynn would use.

"Yes. It is a rare gift..." He clapped Tron's shoulder. "Go talk with your User, he'll tell you more."

In his office, Alan was reviewing the last conversation he had with the system monitor. It was a strange one and at the same time it made him happy. His program shared more with humans than any other. He was looking for a certain passage, scrolling down through text logs. "Aha, there it is!" He proceeded to read it again.

"Alan One, I have a request to make."

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"This ... feeling. Is too much of a burden to me. It's distracting me. Can you remove it?"

He took a while to reply. _The only possible explanation for such a request would be rejection. Love is full of joy, and the most desired experience._

"Tron ... It hurts, doesn't it?"

There was no reply and he looked to see if the program is still connected. He was there, waiting.

"Yes, I could ... rewrite you, but then you wouldn't be who you are now. Everything would be lost. Does it worth it?"

The program took some time to think about it. He remembered the first days on the Grid, the first moment he saw her. Her smile, her voice, the kiss after the MCP was destroyed. All that made him feel happy and sad at the same time. It was something beyond his comprehension. And he was sure that he doesn't want to go though that once more.

"No, it doesn't. But ... can you prevent this from happening again? Make me ... unresponsive to such a feeling?"

"It is possible. Are you one hundred percent sure? I may not be able to restore you later."

"Yes, Alan One."

He leaned back in his chair. After a brief moment of rest Alan begins to alter the program's code.

On the Grid, inside the I/O Tower, Dumont stands beside Tron while he is going through the reboot process.


End file.
